If you have concerns regarding your Samsung Galaxy S5, don’t hesitate to shoot us an email at [email protected] and we will do our best to get back to you as soon as we can.

You can also engage us at our social networking sites by visiting our Facebook and Google+ pages.

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AT&T Samsung Galaxy S5 Lollipop Update

Problem: Hi. Last night I checked my AT&T Galaxy S5 hoping to get an update to Lollipop. To my surprise there WAS an update, so I started downloading it. Then two annoying things happened. First, I went on the Web to read news of the Lollipop update for GS5 finally coming to the USA, only to learn that for sad AT&T users like me, this would just be an update to 4.4.4. Then I left my phone alone to let the download complete, but when I came back to it there was no update. I don’t know if the download failed or what. I went back into settings to check to see if there was something I had to do to start the update, but it was like it had never been there, never downloaded. And checking for an update again tells me I am up to date. So I am still on 4.4.2. Am I missing something? Am I better off without it? What gives?

Thanks. — PG

Troubleshooting: Hi PG. We understand your frustration about this issue and just like you, we are also excited to have Lollipop running in our devices. AT&T appears to be a bit slow in rolling out the update to their users though. At this time, there is no official word from AT&T but we are confident that they are doing their best to release the update as soon as possible. With their rivals already ahead in the releasing of the update, we are pretty sure that AT&T must be in a hurry to roll it out to soon.

For now, try to remain patient and be ready to download the update once it becomes available.

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Samsung Galaxy S5 getting “Unfortunately Email has stopped” error

Problem: Just updated my Galaxy S5 to the new software, as directed. All is fine except for email. I keep getting “Unfortunately Email has stopped.” What can I do to fix this? Thanks. —Maria

Troubleshooting: Hi Maria. We know for a fact that not all system updates can go perfectly as intended. Some instances of system updates can even do more harm than good, not because they are designed to do exactly that, but simply because of some complications when incompatible firmware versions or damaged apps get intertwined with the system update files. If this problem happened immediately after the update, your first troubleshooting step is to try to identify if this involves only the email app you are using. We recommend that you clear the email app’s cache and data, then reconfigure your email to the said app afterwards.

If that will not work, perform a factory reset and reconfigure your email to see if that will make any difference.

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Samsung Galaxy S5 freezing and rebooting after updating to Lollipop

Problem: Lollipop update is now causing my Samsung Galaxy S5 to freeze and reboot. Anyway to get rid of it? It sucks! I am a Verizon user. — Ajrubin1

Troubleshooting: Hi Ajrubin1. Verizon’s Lollipop update is still being rolled out at this time after it was released a few days ago so we have no definite fix for the problems you mentioned here. Because Lollipop has brought several major changes including new animations, 3D views, multi-colored themes, etc, we recommend that you try to play with the settings to minimize the graphics heavy stuff. You also want to do a factory reset to see if that will change the situation.

As we are still trying to collect potential problems arising from the update from other users, you can expect that we will be updating this post in the coming weeks so we can help you and other users further. For now, try to take note of the other issues you may encounter and tell us about them so we can help you in the future. Thank you for your patience.

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Samsung Galaxy S5 won’t stay connected to Wi-Fi

Problem: Hi! I am having trouble with my Galaxy S5. It won’t stay connected to any Wi-Fi. This problem has started happening a few days ago and I have no idea what caused this phone to act as it does now. I thought it was my security software causing the problem like before so I tried to tweak the app’s settings. However, the problem has remained and I have no clue what to do now. Sometimes the phone connects to a Wi-Fi but disconnects right away. This happens whether I’m trying to connect to a home Wi-Fi or at a café. I tried to look for online solutions but most of the issues being discussed talk about slow Wi-Fi connections on an S5 and not the one I just mentioned.

I have not noticed you mentioning this issue in any of your articles so I’m afraid this may be unique to my phone. I’m considering having this phone replaced but before doing so, I deem it necessary to consult you about it. I would appreciate any advice. Thank you! — Ron

Troubleshooting: Hi Ron. We appreciate your effort in trying to look for a similar problem in our articles first. You are actually right. Your issue looks odd. The problem may be caused either by a faulty adapter or a software glitch. Most of the time though, a Wi-Fi issue is due to underlying software problem so our first troubleshooting step is to try to isolate what specific software it is. To do this, we must perform a Safe Mode procedure so we can prevent third party applications (including some forms of malware) from running.

Safe Mode. Sometimes, third party apps can interfere with the phone’s Wi-Fi functions so booting the phone in safe mode is a good idea. Once in Safe mode, use the phone normally and try to see if you can connect to any Wi-Fi without any problems. As mentioned in our tutorial, you may also want to uninstall your recently installed apps as they may be causing this glitch.

Cases. Metallic cases that customers are using to customize their phones may interfere with how the network adapter operates. Odd as you think but we want to test every possible solution in an odd situation like in this one so try to remove your phone’s case (if, of course, you are using a non-Samsung one) and see how it works.

Forget and reconnect. Have you tried forgetting and reconnecting to your Wi-Fi? Sometimes, disconnecting from a network and reconnecting to it after a few minutes work. Simply tap and hold the network you are trying to connect to and select the option to forget that network. Trying to connect to a new network resets the configuration for it and may resolve your problem.

Factory reset. We know resetting the phone to its factory defaults can be troublesome but if any of the steps above won’t help, you are left without much choice.

Replacement. Doing a factory reset usually resolves a lot of software issues but if the problem continues after performing it, that means that you have a hardware problem in your hand. Try to call your local Samsung shop and check with them if they can repair or replace your phone. You also want to call your service provider to see if they can help you fix or replace your phone.

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Samsung Galaxy S5 display has become pale and loses brightness

Problems: Hello. I came across your article on the S5 and figured I would give you a try. I dropped by S5 this morning and now my colors in my display are pale and not bright. I have played with my brightness. I have tried all 5 picture modes. All of them are pale. Am I missing somewhere that I can try? Thanks. — Ian

Hi. I dropped my phone last night and the screen resolution now has a yellow tint to it. I’ve tried adjusting the brightness, but that isn’t doing anything. I also found something in your blog with the color adjustment … that didn’t work either. I already shut down and restarted but it still didn’t work. Any ideas? Thanks. — Maria

Troubleshooting: Hi Ian and Maria. Loss of sharpness and color is a sure sign of LED failure. Try to dial “*#0*#” (without the quotes) on your phone’s dial pad to access the service screen. You do not need to press the call button because after hitting the last character, the service mode will appear.

After you dial that code, one of the options you can select is LED. This test will force the phone to turn its LED to light red, green, and blue to show you how everything is working. You can also test the Dimming option to allow you to lower the display’s brightness. Just like the LED test, the screen will be shown in three colors–red, green, and blue. You also will be given the ability to tap the screen to toggle between two brightness settings.

If you think that your phone’s display is not working properly, please call Samsung or your service provider about it. We are sorry but we have no more further suggestions on this issue other than have someone check the phone for you.

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Samsung Galaxy S5 randomly restarts

Problem: Hello! I’m so happy I found your site! It’s reassuring to know that there are people out there whom I can e-mail and get troubleshooting without having to risk spending more money than I have. So, here’s my problem:

The day that I bought my phone six months ago, I installed a micro-SD card, popped it into a “Lifeproof” case, and went on my merry way with no issues at all. While I’ve dropped it and gotten it damp before, it had so far shown no ill side effects.

Today, it randomly turned off while feeling hotter than normal. I let it cool off for fifteen or so minutes, and it turned back on when I pressed the center button on the bottom. About twenty minutes later, it turned off again. Thinking it was the same thing, I waited for another fifteen minutes and tried again. No combination of buttons could get it to turn on again. I assumed it must be overheating in the case, so I took it out of the case, let it cool down further, and again, no combination of buttons would turn it on. I like to think that I’m fairly tech savvy, and figured that the next step is removing the battery, waiting, putting it back in, and trying again.

Lo-and-behold, it starts up just fine! Until I put the case back on and it immediately dies again. Okay, so it’s a case problem? Well, I took the case off, restarted it by removing the battery again, and it turned on, again. Until it turned itself off again. It’s been doing that for the last several hours.

I should note that the housing is not at all damaged, and that the battery is neither leaking nor puffy, nor showing any other signs of stress. I have not yet factory reset it, though I’m assuming that this is the next step before taking it into an actual shop to have a technician look at it.

Have you heard of this happening before? If so, is there anything that I can do (besides factory reset or taking it into a tech)? I did read about a “sudden death” issue that is apparently frequent in the Galaxy family, and I’m really hoping that that isn’t the explanation for my issues, because, from what I’ve read, I would be forced to replace the phone entirely. :C

Thank you so much for reading through all this and giving me advice, I really appreciate it!

Thanks again. — Katie

Troubleshooting: Hi Katie. We appreciate you taking your precious time reaching out to us about this problem. You have apparently covered almost all the possible solutions a user can do to try to resolve a problem like you have. The “sudden death” issue you have read about is true and can happen to any electronic device. It’s a convenient term to use to describe a whole sort of hardware issues on a device like your Samsung Galaxy S5. There can be a range of potential reasons why a powerful device like your S5 fails to work normally but sometimes we fail to consider the battery. Based on your description of the problem, you have tried checking if it’s a battery issue by doing an ocular inspection. However, the best way to tell if you have a battery problem is by using another one. Try using another battery first before you consider having the phone replaced. We cannot give any other solutions because it looks like we are dealing with a hardware problem and not a software one. As you can see, majority of our troubleshooting steps are meant to identify if an underlying cause involves a software glitch. This is not, we think, is happening in your case.

If another battery won’t make any difference, then the next logical step would be to let Samsung or your service provider replace or repair the phone for you.

Problem: Hello. I am writing about a pretty serious (and annoying) situation that has cropped up for both my wife and myself on our Galaxy S5’s since upgrading from OS 4.4.2 to 4.4.4 yesterday on AT&T in the US.

It seems that our phones won’t stay connected to a Wi-Fi network now. It happens at work & at home (where I have 2 Wi-Fi networks) on different Wi-Fi networks. It connects and then loses the connection within about 30 seconds and just continues the cycle over and over. (I had to turn off Wi-Fi to type this email since the notice of connecting to my network keeps popping up over my keyboard).

It’s causing difficulty in charging my battery as well. I plug into my pc to charge while at work & today my battery only charged from 61% to 79% in 3 hours of charging. Normally it charged much quicker. I took my battery & SIM card out several times for over 5 minutes and it didn’t work.

Please advise if you know of any potential fixes. I thank you kindly. — Scott

Troubleshooting: Hi Scott. Honestly, we are yet to determine if the symptoms you described to us is as pervasive as we think it is. We have logged a similar issue from another AT&T user so we think that the update may be the one to blame here. We will continue to monitor this problem in the coming days and update this post accordingly if we can find a quality fix. Because it appears to be happening to only AT&T users, we recommend that you seek help from your service provider so they will become aware of this possible glitch as well.

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Samsung Galaxy S5 hotspot/tethering feature not working

Problem: Hi. I recently got a S5 and I’m trying to use my hotspot but my laptop would not connect to it. It is definitely discoverable as it comes up but says it cannot connect. When I clicked troubleshoot it just says there’s a problem with the device. Also, I downloaded a few songs in Google Play Store but when I try and open my music library, it asks for a Google account. I try and add my Google account but it just says to try again later. I can listen to the songs but it is using my data to play them. I have not had a Galaxy before so there is a very good chance it is something I’m doing. Thanks guys. — Rachel

Troubleshooting: Hi Rachel. We will try to answer your questions one at a time. As regards your hotspot question, have you tried connecting another device to your hotspot to see if the laptop is the culprit? If you have another wireless device like a tablet or another smartphone, try to see if connects to your S5 hotspot without any difficulty. This is the best way to identify which device is causing the problem. If another device fails to connect, this means that we have to dig deeper into your hotspot and your S5. Before proceeding to perform any troubleshooting on your device, kindly call your network and verify if your data plan allows tethering or making your device as a hotspot. This is important because some carriers does not allow this feature.

Once you get a confirmation that your phone can be a portable router, double-check the hotspot configuration details by selecting the Configure option. Make sure that you take note of the details under security type, password, and other fields. We are confident that you can manage in turning your Samsung Galaxy S5 into a wireless hotspot because the steps are self-explanatory. If, after reviewing all the steps, the problem persists we recommend that you let your carrier know about it so they can help you check other settings that may be specific to them only.

On a different note, we are not sure what your second question is about. If you are using the default Google Play Music app, we cannot see any reason why it will ask you for your Google credentials because the device will initially ask you to sign in using your Google account when you first use it. If you are using a third party app though, it’s best if you can contact the developer to let them know that their product is acting up. To do that, you can either post a comment or review in the app’s download page in Google Play Store, or email the developer directly using their contact details on their Google Play Store page.

Connect with us

We are among the very few people who offer free Android support online and we are serious about it. If you happen to have an issue you want to share, kindly ensure to provide details of the problem as well as a short background or the things you were doing prior to noticing it. Feel free to contact us regarding your concerns, questions and problems. You may reach us at [email protected] or post on our Facebook and Google+ pages.

Disclaimer

Disclaimer: we are not affiliated with the device manufacturers or phone carriers we mention in any way, all suggestions are based on our own experience and research, you may use our advice at your own discretion.